2 Delhi policemen jailed for extortion

Two policemen have been sentenced to three years in jail by a Delhi court for extorting money from a scrap dealer by threatening to implicate him in a theft case.

Holding head constables Sukhbir and Anoop Singh guilty under the Prevention of Corruption Act for forcing the scrap dealer to give them the bribe, Special CBI Judge Pradeep Chaddah also imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 on each of them.

The duo had threatened to implicate the scrap dealer in a false case of buying stolen property when the latter had visited the police station with a friend to lodge a case of theft.

"We find that convicts had threatened to implicate a citizen and demanded his pound of flesh for letting him off. Victim was not guilty of any crime or misdemeanour. He simply happened to visit the police station with a friend to lodge a report," the judge said.

"Convicts police men were duty-bound by law to prevent crimes from taking place. Instead of doing their duty honestly, they themselves started indulging in criminal activities.

"They sought to extract bribe of Rs 20,000 from complainant Sarfaraz Ahmad and also succeeded in extorting the same," the judge said.

Both Sukhbir and Anoop were posted at DBG Road police station. On January 24, 2007, Ahmad visited the police station with his friend Asif, whose motorcycle was stolen.

Both the convicts, instead of lodging the complaint, threatened to accuse Ahmad of purchasing stolen motorcycles. They even contacted Ahmad on telephone and visited his house to demand money.

A trap was laid and the duo was nabbed. Anoop, however, managed to escape only to surrender 20 days later.